RANCHI, India, July 10 -- Jharkhand High Court issued the following order on June 10:

1. The instant appeal under section 374(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure is directed against the judgment of conviction dated 15.02.1996 and the order of sentence dated 24.02.1996 passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Deoghar in Sessions Case No.65 of 1995 whereby and whereunder the appellants, above-named, have been convicted under sections 302 and 307 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced to undergo RI for life under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and RI for 5 years for the offence under section 307 of the Indian Penal Code and both the sentences shall run concurrently.

2. At the outset, it needs to mention here that one of the appellants-coconvict, namely, Naresh Sah, had died during the pendency of the appeal and vide order dated 26.03.2025 the present criminal appeal qua the appellant, namely, Naresh prasad Sah stands abated.

Factual Matrix

3. The prosecution story in brief as per the allegation made in the fardbayan by Devendra Sah @ Ravi Sah, the informant, reads as under:

4. The prosecution case was instituted on the fardbayan of Devendra Sah recorded on 28.10.94 at 8.30 PM at Sadar Hospital, Deoghar, who alleged that his shop known as Laxmi Cut-piece Centre was situated at Jasidih Bazar, to the south of Durga temple and contiguous west to Bajrangbali temple. On the occasion of Deepawali the informant and his brother with the help of labourers, were getting the aforesaid shop cleaned. The informant got his residential house at the upper storey of the shop, to the contiguous east of the house of the informant, the house of his uncle Prem Ranjan Sah was situated. In between both the houses, there was a joint well and small stretch of land and the water of the same well was being used by the informant and his uncle. Both of them had separate motors for taking water from the well. The uncle of the informant drained stench water from his house by constructing a drain from near the well. Sometimes, the dirt from the drain accumulated near the well and the dogs in search of food, fell into the well. For cleaning the well on some previous occasions, disputes had occurred between the family of the informant and the family of his uncle.

5. It was further alleged by the informant that on the day of the occurrence at about 5.30 PM he was sitting at his cloth shop, where his cousin accused-Naresh, Ramesh and Om Prakash arrived and Naresh began to break the closed door, situated near the well. The informant came out from his shop and protested, whereupon Ramesh ordered to assault. Accused Naresh, thereafter, gave axe-blow upon the informant with intention to kill, to which the informant caught by his right hand. He sustained injury on his right palm. Accused Naresh gave another blow by means of axe on the right thigh of the informant. Accused Ramesh and Om Prakash gave rod-blows on the shoulder and back of the informant, who fell down and raised alarm.

6. It was further alleged that the elder brother of the informant, namely, Surendra Sah (deceased) rushed there from the shop to save the informant. Accused Naresh by means of axe and the rest two accused by means of iron-rods started assaulting Surendra, who caught the axe, but at the same time accused Naresh took out a knife, to which he had kept concealed in his waist, and pierced the same into the abdomen of Surendra, as a result of which the entire intestine bulged out, and he fell down and became unconscious.

*Rest of the document can be viewed at: (https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/ecourtindiaHC/cases/display_pdf.php?filename=vw8LnZcqP4VRvcwMiW2ir2Y1mf4wCGfcy6b8DXgT%2BYqQ%2Fr78YpUoZslGvV75xVWT&caseno=Cr.A(DB)/9900112/1996&cCode=1&cino=JHHC010007221996&state_code=7&appFlag=)

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